Instant Pot Quinoa Enchiladas

What do we call this? It’s got all the flavors of enchiladas, but it’s definitely not enchiladas. No rolling, no filling, no baking. Just throwing all of the ingredients in the pressure cooker and in 25 minutes, dinner is served.

This base is so incredibly delicious, you might decide to eat it straight from the pot. Or, you might decide that you do want enchiladas after all and will use the filling in corn tortillas. That’s the beauty of this meal, it’s completely customizable depending on how you want to eat it.

We did both. A cook once, eat twice approach. Enchilada bowls the first night, then I tucked the leftovers into corn tortillas and baked them with more sauce and cheese the second night. Enchiladas two nights in a row? What could be better?

MY LATEST VIDEOS

MY LATEST VIDEOS

I’m including my recipe for a homemade enchilada sauce, which I feel really elevates the entire dish. If you’ve found a canned version of enchilada sauce that you like, tell me. I’ve tried so many only to be disappointed in the overall taste. They are either too tomato-y, too bland, or lacking any real flavor.

Mine includes a hefty dose of spices, including a little cinnamon for warmth and depth. I know it’s an extra step for a weeknight meal, but I think the additional ten minutes are worth it. Or, do what I do- triple the sauce recipe, then freeze for whenever you need extra enchilada sauce without the additional effort.

Cook the quinoa in the sauce, then add in the rest of the ingredients after the pressure is released. Adding the beans and corn last will prevent them from turning to mush while pressure cooking.

Right before serving, stir in chopped corn tortillas (if using) and shredded cheddar cheese (if desired.) While I haven’t tried it, I think drizzling in my vegan cheese sauce would be an awesome dairy-free alternative.

Description

Instant Pot Quinoa Enchiladas! This casserole is a perfect, healthy weeknight meal. Filled with vegetables, beans and quinoa, this recipe has plant-based protein and easily gluten-free. Serve as is or as an enchilada filling. Instructions for slow-cooker in notes!

Scale

Ingredients

Homemade Enchilada Sauce:

3 tablespoons oil (I use canola)

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (see notes for GF version)

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 cup water (or vegetable broth)

Enchilada Ingredients:

2 bell peppers, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup enchilada sauce (from above recipe)

1 medium zucchini, chopped

1 cup uncooked quinoa

3/4 cup water

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained and rinsed

1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapeños

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

4 corn tortillas, cut into strips

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Make the enchilada sauce: heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes stirring often.

Add in the rest of the spices: chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt, cinnamon, cayenne and stir another minute until toasted. Whisk in the crushed tomatoes and water and stir until thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Remove 1 cup of the sauce and set the rest aside for drizzling over finished dish or for later. (This sauce freezes beautifully!)

Turn the Instant Pot on and hit the saute button. Add the bell peppers, onion, zucchini and a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are soft. Add in the uncooked quinoa and cook another minute or two until just toasted.

Press the cancel button on the Instant Pot and add in the water and 1 cup of the enchilada sauce. Cover and cook at high pressure for 1 minute, then let the pressure come down naturally.

Remove the lid and immediately once pressure has subsided (about 15 minutes) then stir in the black beans, corn, jalapeno, cheese, cilantro and corn tortillas. Serve hot, with extra enchilada sauce if desired.

Notes

I haven’t tried gluten-free flour in my sauce before, but it may work. If not, I suggest purchased gluten-free enchilada sauce instead.

I love this dish as a messy casserole, but you can also serve it as an enchilada filling. Cook as is, but don’t add in the corn tortillas. Spoon filling into tortillas, roll and cover with remaining enchilada sauce and shredded cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes until hot and cheese has melted at 400 degrees F.

Yes, you can make this in the slow-cooker. Saute onion, bell peppers, zucchini on stovetop with a bit of olive oil until vegetables are tender. Add to the base of the slow cooker along with 1 cup water, quinoa, 1 cup enchilada sauce, black beans, corn and diced jalapenos. Cook on low heat for 5-6 hours. Just before serving, stir in the shredded cheddar cheese, cilantro and tortillas. Serve with extra enchilada sauce.

Keywords: pressure cooker, instant pot, vegetarian, healthy, dinner,

Did you make this recipe?

About Alex

Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, Plant-Based Chef and Yoga Instructor. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Her blog, Delish Knowledge, focuses on making whole-food eating deliciously simple. She lives in St. Louis, MO with her husband, running buddy and taste-tester BL.

If you are interested in personal nutrition coaching, please visit her services page.

Hi Trent; make sure that your valve is set to sealed and not vent when you put the pot on. Do you have a new IP by chance? For whatever reason, I’ve been hearing of new IP pots giving the “burn” error, even on tried and true recipes. After sauteing, be sure to fully deglaze the pot bottom then scrub the flavorful brown bits off with a wooden spoon. You don’t need to discard the flavorful brown bits but if any are stuck on, then your IP might think that food is burned on and won’t come to pressure.

If you wish to avoid the tomatoy taste of canned enchilada sauce, read the label and avoid those that include tomato paste or tomato sauce. In most Mexican sauces, particularly those made in Mexico, the sauces are made not from tomatoes, but exclusively from chilies. Again, read the labels and avoid those with tomato sauce to avoid that potential taste all together. I also refer to the sauce above that uses tomato and would hope she would use a sauce free of tomato.

Hi Kiera, hm, I’m sorry you got an error. I didn’t even know that the IP had a burn error!? I know when I’ve made things with tomato sauce it will scorch, but this has enough liquid in it to cook through. Glad it all worked out!

Just wanted to share my experience, as I came looking to the comments because I thought I had messed up. I just made this to use as enchilada filling for this weeks meal prep. Just as Kiera, I also got the burn error. My IP wasn’t up to pressure so I pulled the cover, added about 3/4 cup of water and stirred it in. Started the IP over. The burn error came up again and immediately changed over to the pressure cook cycle. My IP took 32 minutes to release the pressure, likely because I added more water. Once I opened the IP, the consistency looked nothing like your photos. I added in the beans and corn and everything, and then added in the remaining enchilada sauce and the consistency looked good. Tastes good, but I’m going to have to work on this one to get it to come out correctly.

OMG, So Good! First batch I made with your enchilada sauce. 2nd batch I made with trader Joe’s enchilada sauce and added black olives. A little spicier but still delicious! Topped both with vegan sour cream and avocado! Definitely adding it to my recipe arsenal.

I made these last night and also got the dreaded “burn” noticed. I canceled, stirred up as much as I could from the bottom, and added more liquid (in my case chicken stock). I didn’t measure, but I’m guessing about 1/2 to 3/4 cup more. Stirred really well again and started the pressure cook over. It worked that time! This was really good! And I super impressed that I made my own enchilada sauce (also tripled as per your suggestion). I wonder if this freezes well? I have been having so much fun with my IP that I have a ton of food!

Hi Heather- I’ve never gotten the “burn” notice before- I wonder if it’s just certain models of the IP? So glad to hear that it eventually worked out for you! We love that enchilada sauce and it freezes well. I haven’t tried freezing this mixture together before, but I think it would work out. I usually freeze our leftovers and then eat them again in 2-3 weeks; you might just need to add extra sauce/cheese as you reheat it.

Heather – I froze some of the first batch I made and it reheated really well. Making more now so I can freeze up some again! Got the burn notice again today as I was making it. Wish I could figure out what’s up with that. Kinda frustrating.

I got the burn noticed twice! I’m making it as we speak and have given up on getting it through the cycle. I added 1 cup each time I got the burn notice with no luck. Since the quinoa is cooked now, I’m moving on to adding the rest of the ingredients.

Hm, sorry about that Maria- since the quinoa is already cooked, then I’d recommend just adding the rest of the ingredients and cook on “warming” until heated through. Should still taste great. Let me know how it turned out.

I made this tonight and it turned out great. Like the comments above my IP gave me the burn error twice and was never fully able to reach pressure. Not sure why it kept burning. I just kept adding more vegetable stock.

This looks delicious! I would like to make it tonight, can it be made in the Insta pot using dried black beans? can this be done in the insta pot changing cooking times or should I cook the beans apart? thanks so much! It would be great if can be done all in the insta pot

I don’t know if dried beans would work; because of the tomato sauce, the recipe might burn if cooked too long. Black beans take about 25 minutes to cook and then 15-20 minutes natural release. If you try it, let us know!

No burn error. After reading the comments, I made extra sure to NOT let the tomato/enchilada sauce touch the bottom of the insert. Since my sauce was a bit cool by the time I added it, I was able to pour it on top of the water/veg/quinoa mixture and it stayed sitting on top. Didn’t stir, close, and everything came to pressure nicely. I’ve found this to be a cardinal rule of IP cooking, don’t let tomato sauces touch the bottom. Hope this helps others. Thx for the recipe! It made a lot so we have a ton left to eat throughout the week which I always appreciate.